 |
|
 |
 |
 |
Click on any thumbnail for the full-size pic
 One of the most popular rides found at nearly every carnival, boardwalk, amusement park and theme park is the Musik Express ride. The ride combines high speed motion over a gently undulating track, combined with bright colors and light, with music. This crowd pleaser is a favorite with all ages since parents and children can ride together, and also a favorite of couples since the ride motion presses the riders together in their seats. The ride has been manufactured by several companies, and many owners have replaced their original rides with newer models over time. |
       |
   Added in 1976, the Musik Express ride has always stood on the same location in the park. The ride was part of the expansion of the park for its third season, along with the relocation of the park's entrance plaza. The location which had originally been part of the Happy Feeling petting zoo area was redeveloped with the addition of the Alpen Blitz coaster as well as the Musik Express ride.  The ride was a standard Mack Musik Express model, with a colorful floral design and lighting package. The floral designs of the cars and center hub gave the ride a kind of hippie feel showing its 1960's design origins. Great Adventure has made reference that this particular Musik Express ride unit actually debuted at the 1964/65 New York World's Fair, though the research of the GAH staff has not yet proved or disproved this. Aside from occasional painting and general maintenance, the ride remained unchanged until 1988, when in a sweeping safety improvement program launched by Park President Ray Williams (pictured above in front of Musik Express), the wall that separated the back third of the track from the front was removed to allow the ride operator a clear view of all cars at all times. A couple of years earlier mesh netting was placed from car to car to prevent careless guests from accidentally falling into the open gaps between them. |
       |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Click the image below to watch a video of Musik Express in operation:  |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
Over the life of the
ride in the park, minor changes have been made to the ride including
replacement of the canvas roof and wall panels. The flower
design was removed from the central hub when the Plexiglas panels were
replaced during a rehab of the ride in the 1990's. As part of Time Warner's ownership of Six Flags, the previously undefined area of the park became Old Country, with the Oktoberfest style Musik Express fitting right in with the new Autobahn bumper cars and games which were added across the pathway. The Musik Express always looked best after dark with its thousands of lights flashing in time to the music. Around 2003, the use of the ride operator's booth was discontinued to help reduce staffing requirements. The ride's controls were relocated to the entrance area allowing combined operation and crowd control by just one employee. |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
The
music played on the ride was a reflection of the popular songs of that
summer, mostly being chosen by the individual ride operators.
The style of music would often change as the ride operator shifts
changed throughout the day, with some bringing whatever cassettes they
had been playing on their drive into work that day.
Occasionally (usually after an inappropriate song choice was heard by a
passing member of the park's management team), the crew would be given
orders to only play cassettes provided by the park.  In the 2006-2007 off-season, the Musik Express was completely rehabbed and reassembled. For opening day of the 2007 season, the ride was not quite ready to open, with the bulk of re-assembly being complete, but the central canvas covering still awaiting placement as final touches were being done to the rides mechanical systems.  For the 2008 season, the Old Country section of the park was closed to the public, with Musik Express standing but not operating. The winter storms had taken their toll on the ride's roof canvas, ripping one section open. Currently the ride is not scheduled for removal and will hopefully reopen in coming seasons.  |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
